About Our
Water Lubricated Bearings Company
- Countrose rubber-lined bearings have been used in the marine and pump industries for more than 40 years, gaining a long-established reputation for durability and excellence along the way. Countless shipbuilders and repairers; pump designers and manufacturers specify Countrose water-lubricated bearings for their quality and top-class performance.
What sets us apart from other manufacturers is that we are able to offer customers two different types of elastomeric lined bearings, polyurethane and nitrile rubber – the choice of lining dictated by the environmental (abrasive) conditions, for example in shallow water containing sand or grit.
SATISFACTION
EXPERTS
DELIVERED
Prompt Off-the-shelf Delivery
A full range of Countrose Bearings is available in Polyurethane or Nitrile Rubber, with a choice of naval brass or tough phenolic resin laminate shells. Countrose has established a reputation for prompt, efficient despatch with a short lead-time for specials.
Total In-house Capability
Countrose in-house capability covers all stages of production, from bonding and moulding the liners, through to the final precision grinding operations, which are essential for the accuracy of fit, concentric alignment of the shaft and properly designed running clearances.
Specialist Advice
When needed, Countrose can offer technical advice on bearing suitability, selection and installation. Where necessary, both polyurethane and nitrile rubber-lined bearings can be specially manufactured to the customer’s own shell material specifications.
Company
Our History
- Countrose Bearings Ltd is a heritage British engineering brand known to and supplying hundreds of satisfied customers.
- By way of background and history, Kenneth Mathews established Countrose Engineering in 1977 in a small fishing village, Porthleven, in Cornwall, England.
- The idea and concept for a new bearing offering was born when the nitrile rubber lining in the shaft bearings was replaced with polyurethane. Countrose could now offer customers greater bearing performance.
- In the early 1980s, Ross Richards joined the company and the product was further developed with the adoption of a precision engineering approach using lathes to complete the bearing finish. The lining material changed to black from clear.
- In 1982, the business was scaled-up with a shift from Cornwall to Derby and the hiring of a new Managing Director, Clifford Wilde. Clifford had been courted and subsequently hired from BTR Plc which was chaired by Sir Owen Whitley Green at the time. A new factory was duly leased with increased offices, warehousing and engineering capacity.
- Over the next 15 years, the engineering business grew in size and scale with further staff and machining units being added. The polyurethane process was developed internally and became housed on-site.
- In 1998, Countrose Engineering Ltd was acquired by Tufnol. Based in Birmingham, the vintage British engineering materials concern had been developing composite materials since the 1920s and had been previously a supplier to Countrose. In 1999, Countrose relocated to Birmingham and was renamed Countrose Bearings Ltd.
- In 2020, Tufnol was sold to the Diamorph Group – a high performance engineering materials conglomerate. The following year, Countrose was seen as non-core and was duly sold to a UK – Middle East private equity backed engineering venture.
- Over the years, the company has had nearly 1,000 customers across all continents and most countries in the world. Going forward, the aim is to reinvigorate this heritage British engineering company and subsequently echo and exceed the high points in both its engineering developments and global sales of marine bearings.
SPECIALISTS
SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
YEARS OF WORK
PROFESSIONALS
How We Work
Designed for Water Lubrication
This allows the bearing to support the shaft and, at the same time, assists water to flow into the bearing, providing lubrication exactly where it is needed.
Standard Ranges and Special Options
In the Countrose standard range of marine bearings, the outer shell is made from high quality spun cast naval brass with a choice of polyurethane or nitrile bearing liner.
Quality Manufacture
Countrose Bearings can be supplied to Lloyds Register of Shipping requirements. Quality and management systems are approved to ISO 9002 standards.